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My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

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Re: My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

#221

Post by creaturemachine »

beej71 wrote: post #141
denotational wrote: post #2

This is the sort of thing that almost (but not quite) pushes me to support mandatory certification (enforced by patents/other IP protections) for consumer devices that use a familiar connector like USB. Consumers shouldn’t need to worry about the specific output voltage; the presence of a USB-A connector should indicate that it abides by the specification. The hacker in me hates the idea of enforcing something like t…

OTOH we have tons of crazy non-usb transformers with all kinds of different plugs that might or might not plug into devices they're meant for. It seems like somehow we're used to the idea that this particular plug will only work with the device that came with it, but we assume that USB-A is USB-A. I know I do. This does make me wonder about the USB adapter I got with my dash cam. The documentation says all over the p…

It's likely that they are trying to avoid support calls from users plugging into whatever USB port is on their dash that might not supply enough current, or is intended for media/AA/Carplay and forcing the camera into interfacing with the infotainment system.

Re: My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

#222

Post by sleepybrett »

brk wrote: post #88
hiatus wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What language in an insurance policy requires the use of UL-listed appliances for coverage?

None. Stuff like the post you are replying to is common "good luck with insurance" trope. Insurance protects you from stupidity, errors, and negligence. It doesn't protect you from fraud or intentional malice, but using an uncertified device is not fraud. Note that after an accident related to personal stupidity or error, an insurance company could decide you are too risky to further insure, or that the cost for your…

I used to work for a major clothing retailer. Our insurance policies did require us to use UL certified appliances in our stores.

Re: My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

#223

Post by mdaniel »

shermantanktop wrote: post #137
MattHeard wrote: post #51

I have/had this cat water fountain too (my cats are now happy with a normal bowl) and I believe I just threw the wall wart into a box with the rest of my unused USB A wall warts. A little bit like electrical Russian roulette now, I guess.

I couldn’t get mine to drink from it. They side-eyed it warily and avoided my attempts to entice them. Cats.

There are a couple of them which offer selectable force of the fountain effect (e.g. https://www.chewy.com/petlibro-stainless-steel-dog-cat/dp/37...), so it may be their domestication has tamped down the "babbling stream" identification circuits and they need something a little softer

I'd also be on the lookout for the electrical hum mentioned in TFA; that would drive me crazy, and I can't speak to how it would make any kitty wary

Also, and this may go without saying, but watch out for the fountain(s) being made out of materials which are hard to clean

Re: My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

#224

Post by sleepybrett »

pixl97 wrote: post #120
NotYourLawyer wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s terrible . Why don’t they just use a barrel plug?

Not that barrel plugs are any better... I wish I would have wrote the model down posterity, but at one point I worked a trading company and a number of the users had ISDN at home. There were two 'different' modems, and I say different because only the model number on them notified you of it. One had a plug that output DC power. One had a plug that output AC power. They were the same size wall wart. Same size barrel.…

Barrel plugs ARE better because there is very little certainty about them so you always have to check the voltages/polarity. Because usb-a is near ubiquitously 5v over certain pins most people will plug in a usb-a into any socket they see.

Re: My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

#225

Post by yonatan8070 »

shermantanktop wrote: post #142
jorvi wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are much higher quality chargers (and cables) than Apple's. Anker is well known, and Baseus is getting there. They are especially nice because they make GaN chargers, putting a lot of power in a tiny package. It honestly kind of baffles me how crappy Apple's cables and chargers are when they simultaneously make one of the best USB-C to 3.5mm DACs on the market, and then sell it for $10 .

Anker has been surprisingly good. I worried they were a Chinese faux brand but everything I’ve gotten has been solid and well made.

I recently got a 67W PD changer from Toocki on AliExpress, it actually delivers enough power to charge my laptop (via a USB-C to barrel jack adapter) reliably, and for 12$

I originally thought there was no way these work as advertised, but I saw a guy I know using one to charge his laptop, and he has the engineering knowledge to properly test it so I decided to go with his recommendation

Re: My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

#226

Post by anotherboffin »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #196
mint2 wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just a little too short, add: “and this email notification demonstrates you are aware of the hazard which will be relevant in lawsuits.”

and they will respond with "We sincerely thank you for your concern. We have a 6 month email retention policy in place to address your issue"

Hypothetically, and just out of curiosity: if mint2 were to keep this email and it would be included as part of the evidence in a lawsuit, how would this bode for Lidl?

Re: My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

#227

Post by palemoonale »

npteljes wrote: post #181
palemoonale wrote: post #102

> At one point I wanted to see if I could create a sort of a DIY UPS for the water fountain. It would be quite bad if I was at work and a power outage results in cats not being able to drink water (they don’t really care for normal water bowls after getting the fountain) . So another self-made problem then.

No, the point is that the charger has a standard USB-A socket, but delivers nonstandard charge. This is potentially dangerous, as the function of the charger does not match the user expectation.

Nope, the point is that he thought to fancy / easy up life with more tech (mentioned potential health issues my ass, you have to clean up every day anyway after pets - does he thin a fountain does not build up residue and germs?), and promptly got more issues to solve. One is the non-standard voltage output, another is spoiled cats which can't be arsed to drink from a peasant's bowl (knew about such habits before, exact same situation).

Stop trying to 'improve' life by more & more tech-based BS.

Re: My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

#228

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

sleepybrett wrote: post #220
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read somewhere, that there's no such thing as a UL-approved turkey fryer. https://www.ul.com/news/put-safety-menu-thanksgiving I think that is still the case.

Every turkey frier I've ever seen is a propane burner and a well sized pot to put on top of it. 0 electronics unless they have a thermostat type feature (which I've never seen).

I’m pretty sure UL applies their testing to anything with safety ramifications.

Re: My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

#229

Post by hddherman »

hadlock wrote: post #213

Would have been nice if he actually measured the output to verify. Takes 2 seconds with a multimeter. If the adapter is already out of spec, there's no reason why you should trust what is written on the side of the box.

Very valid point, I just did that and my multimeter measures the output at 7.71V.

Re: My cat water fountain comes with a spicy USB power adapter

#230

Post by epakai »

tivert wrote: post #200
rollcat wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. Nintendo comes to mind; charging the Switch (the earlier models IIRC) with a third-party adapter was a lottery, and the losing prize was a fried console. They've been guilty of this practice for as long as they've been making electronics - I think it was the NES or the SNES that used a standard barrel jack and voltage, but reversed the polarity, with no circuit to protect the console. Also - using Ethernet port…

> They've been guilty of this practice for as long as they've been making electronics - I think it was the NES or the SNES that used a standard barrel jack and voltage, but reversed the polarity, with no circuit to protect the console. Is there actually a standard about that? IIRC, recently things have drifted towards "center positive" as customary , but most adapters and devices have the little diagram about how the…

Audio and audio adjacent gear is nearly all center negative. Everything else is probably center positive, but you still have to check. No standards.
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